The Shadow Hunter
by FangGirlForever
Summary: Fang is the Shadow Hunter, the leader of the Shadows, but he's also just a not so normal sixteen year old boy who happens to be amazing with physical combat and weaponry. Max is his long time best friend but is she who she thinks she is? Together, they will take on the most powerful sorceress/ Dark Angel, Adrianna. Follow their journey as they unravel the secrets of their destiny.
1. When There's a Will, There's a Way

**So this is my new story. I hope you like it. I might not update until I finish ****Torturing Fang. ****I just wanted you all to get a taste of what's going to happen in the story. So…. ENJOY! **

_**Chapter 1**_

Fang's P.O.V

Rain started pouring, drenching us to the bone. The weather completely matched all of our moods: Depressed and gloomy. The gravestones were turning dark gray instead of their previous lighter color. Thousands of gravestones surrounded us, but only one mattered to me. The words tore at my heart.

_Patricia Santiago_

_1970-2009_

_Greatly loved Mother_

_Wife_

_Daughter And_

_Sister_

I couldn't imagine not seeing her again. Her beautiful face, her tender smile, her warm hug, and soft eyes all gone. Never to be seen again. I sat there, wishing, hoping she could hear my pleas and give me advice. _What do I do Mom? How do I take care of five kids on my own? How do I finish my training? I'm not strong enough. I can't do it without you._

I could imagine her smiling and shaking her head at me. Then telling me that we'd work it out. Together. That wasn't the case here. She was gone. There were so many questions I needed to ask her, so many things I needed to tell her.

I looked up to see my youngest sister, Angel, walking up to my mother's grave stone. She gently placed the red rose we had gotten her at the foot of the stone. Mom had always loved roses. We had a garden full of them back at home. "I love you mommy." She whispered.

Then she turned around to face me. Tears and raindrops streamed down her angelic face. I held out my arms, and she came running towards me. I scooped her up, into my lap and rocked her. I took of my jacket and wrapped the part that was dry around her.

She sobbed into my already soaking wet shirt while I stroked her once bouncy, blonde curls. Gazzy came over to me and I put my arm around him. Pretty soon, Ella and Iggy joined along and we were in a big family hug. We stayed like that for a few minutes. Then we pulled away. "We should get going guys." I said softly. I scooped Angel up in my arms and stood up.

They all nodded and we trudged our way back to the house. I barely noticed that I was shivering since Angel was wrapped in my jacket. When we got to our house, police cars were swarmed around it, trying to investigate the murder. I chuckled in my head. Good luck with that boys.

Then we continued off to my Aunt's house which was next door. We walked up the stairs and she opened the door even before I could knock. "Fang! Where is your jacket? Get in here." She scolded. I walked in, and set Angel down on her feet. My aunt walked in and handed us all towels.

I dried myself, and rubbed the towel roughly against my hair. Angel and Ella giggled when they saw my hair, so I'm guessing it resembled something like a rat's nest. Aunt Emma left the room and came back with a bag and a note. "This is your mother's will."

Everyone froze. "I haven't looked at it yet, but I know that she left something for all of you. I'm going to read it now and I'll hand the package with your name on it out as I read." She picked up the note and started reading.

"These possessions of mine should be given to the rightful child they belong to. Before I start, I would like to tell all of my children that I love them and I will never give up. And now to start. To my baby, Angel, I give my childhood friend. She cheered me up during sad times and gave me good luck. I hope she does the same for you. She reminds me of yourself." Aunt Emma took out a pink package and handed it to Angel.

"To my brave Gazzy, I leave our family picture; in hope that it shows him that family will always be around to help no matter where life takes him." She handed Gazzy a blue package. Then she continued. "To my beautiful Ella, I give my locket in hope that she remembers that I will always be around to help her. All she has to do to see me is open the locket." She handed El a purple package.

"To my gallant son, Iggy, I leave all of the piano music that I have in hope that he makes sure that music is always part of his life." Aunt Emma handed Iggy a green package. "And last but not least, to my eldest child and successor, Fang, I leave all of the money that I owned and my diary in hope that he finds the pages helpful and instructive." Aunt Emma held out a golden package. I hesitantly stepped up and took it from her.

"Good luck my children. And know that as long as I am alive in your heart, you don't have to see or hear me to know I'm there. Love Mom." Aunt Emma finished. We all opened our packages. Inside mine, there was a black leather diary with a note taped to the top. I pulled it off and read.

_Dear Fang, _

_Let me start off by saying how proud of you I am. You _

_have passed your combat stage and you must move on to learning magic. _

_It is also your job to protect your siblings. You are not strong enough to_

_do it alone. _ _There is only one place I can think of where you'll be both safe and learn magic. _

_You must go to your father's house. There you will finish training, and to blend in you must attend high school. Always remember that I am proud of you my son. This_

_will not be the last time I see you though. Always remember Fang. I Love You._

_Love,_

_Mom_

My father? I had to see my father? I was both excited and nervous at the same time. My parents had to split up at an early age because together, there aura was too powerful together, and every evil being out there would sense them. They thought it was too dangerous for us.

I haven't seen my father since I was twelve and I'm sixteen now. It's been four years. I fingered the old leather diary in my hands. I opened the small, metal latch that was stopping it from opening. There was an oval shape engraved in the metal underneath the latch.

The diary still wouldn't open. I realized I needed a key to open the book. I set it down on the couch and went to look at what the rest of my siblings received. Angel got a stuffed animal. It was a bear dressed up like an angel. I understood what Mom meant about how it reminded her of Angel. "My note says her name is Celeste." Angel said.

I smiled softly at her. Gazzy got a family picture of us. I remembered the portrait like it was yesterday. I was eleven when we were taking it. Mom and Dad were sitting on the couch together. Angel, who was a one year old, was on Mom's lap.

Gazzy was three and was sitting on Dad's lap. Iggy, who was nine, was sitting next to Mom. He was leaning on her shoulder. Ella, who was seven, was sitting on my lap. I was sitting next to Dad. He had his arm around me. We were all smiling; A happy, carefree family.

I moved on to Ella. Ella had gotten a beautiful, silver, oval locket **(Picture on profile)**. It had a floral pattern printed on it. Iggy had received a folder of a LOT of piano music. I looked at Mom's diary again and traced the oval in the metal. A thought struck me. "Hey Els? Can I see your locket for a second?" I asked her. She nodded, looking confused.

I opened and put one of the sides into the diary. With a click, it opened. I leafed through all of the pages. Every single one of them was full. Mom had had this diary since she was a kid. A lot of the pages were just random memories. There was one, however, that caught my eye. The last entry in her diary. It was the date of my sixteenth birthday.

_January 13, 2009_

_Dear Diary, _

_Today was my baby's sixteenth birthday. These kids are growing up too fast. _

_Fang has completed his training with flying colors, thanks to me of course. Ahhh..._

_peace at last. I can now rest, knowing that my husband will continue his training. _

_I know Fang can take care of the others now. Adrianna's servants, the dark angels _

_will be coming to try and kill Fang in two days. There is when I will make my last stand. _

_I can only hope that Fang will understand that I had to exit this world, for I haven't _

_known peace in ages, and am longing or a new adventure in heaven or hell. I can be of_

_no more help on this planet. And here's that final entry of my now completed diary. _

_I can only hope that my children will find use for their gifts. One, of course, shall be _

_this diary. _

_Love,_

_Patricia_

I let the diary slip out of my already shaking hands. It landed on the floor with a loud thump. All conversation stopped and everyone in the room was silent, staring at me. Two days… My mom died yesterday. Yesterday was two days after my birthday. Today was January 16.

"She knew." I whispered. They all stared at me. "Fang, honey, what do you mean?" My aunt asked. "She knew she was going to die. She… She wanted to." Everyone knew who 'she' was so there was no need to elaborate on any of that. I shook rubbed my temples.

My head was pounding. All of the pressure was piling on. "Okay. Forget that for now. Mom's instruction was to leave here immediately. Mom says that they'll be here for us in a matter of days. We have to go… Have to go to Dad."

Everyone gasped. "That's the only place that's safe. We have to leave, and we have to leave _now_." I stressed.

Before I continue, I think I should explain something to all you confused readers. My family and I, we're not exactly human. We look like humans, we act like humans, and we talk and mingle with humans. But we're different. We not only live with the humans, but we_ protect _the humans.

There are only a few protectors in the world. We're called the Shadows since no one knows anything about us. We're there, but we can disappear immediately. A lot of Shadows don't even have to protect the human race since they are usually perfectly safe. Usually they just act like humans.

_Usually._ Now here comes the complicated part. A few years ago, a Shadow went bad. Her name is Adrianna. She wanted to take over the human race instead of protect it. Yeah. Great lady, but the point is that a lot of people began to join her. They call themselves the Dark Angels. Shadows can't fight without a leader. The leaders name is Shadow Hunter, the king or queen of the Shadows. A lot of people followed her because… Wait for it… _She was the Shadow Hunter._

When she became a Dark Angel, she lost her right as the Shadow Hunter. A Shadow Hunter must be claimed as soon as they are born. The Shadows tried as hard as they could to fight the Dark Angels, but without a Shadow Hunter, nothing could be done. Two years later, Shadows started to lose hope.

Until... The first month of the next year. A boy was claimed the Shadow Hunter. That boy was me.

**I just wanted to give you a taste of the story you guys voted for. So do you think I should continue it? Please Review…**


	2. Meeting Max

**I don't have anything to say, so here's chapter 2. **

Fang's P.O.V

"Fang, honey, do you know where your father is?"

I shook my head. "No, but I think I know someone who might. " Before we moved, our neighbor's daughter was my best friend."(**guess who she is) ** Her name was Max. We did everything together, knew everything about each other. Her family is one of the only humans that know Shadows exist.

The last time I saw Max was when I was twelve. Her family promised ours that they would always keep track of Dad in case we ever needed him. "We need to go to Max's house." I told her.

"Max's house? That's in Arizona. We live in New York." Iggy cut in.

"I can take you by car." Aunt Emma said. She was the only human in our family. I shook my head. "Our scent together is too strong. Iggy and I will ride to Arizona." Iggy looked at me incredulously.

"We're going to ride…" Iggy asked me as if I was stupid.

"Yes."

"On horses…"

"No. On monkeys."

"To Arizona…"

"Yes. That's what I just said."

"How are we supposed to ride horses that far?" He asked looking thoroughly confused.

"We'll make it if we ride Thuruks." I told him. Thuruks look exactly like horses, we even call them horses, but they are faster, stronger, smarter, and more agile. A Thuruk can have only one rider throughout its life. It'll only allow another person on its back if the rider is around.

The horse and the rider have a connection. Every Shadow should have a Thuruk by the age if thirteen. They are usually foals at first. Iggy reluctantly nodded.

The police had left our house by now, so we went inside. The kids scurried into their rooms to pack. Then I went into our basement, also known as our weapon room.

"Pack light." I told Iggy. "We don't want to over weigh the horses." I packed two pairs of extra clothes, my mother's diaries, and a few other necessities for the approximate three day trip. Then I went down into our basement, also known our weapon room. Dark Angels can only be killed by beings struck in the heart with gold.

Sadly, they don't make gold tipped bullets **(I don't know if they do or not, so bare with me)**, so we had to go old fashioned. I took a bow and a quiver filled gold tipped arrows and slung them onto my back. Then I grabbed three hunting knives and strapped two of them onto my belt.

I walked back upstairs and handed Iggy the other knife. "You're going to need this." I told him."

"What?" How do I use this?" He asked; eyeing the knife with caution.

"Oh, it's easy. Don't get killed, use this to help you. Any other questions?"

Iggy shook his head. "I put some food in both our packs." He said. I nodded. We waited for the rest of my siblings to finish and then we left the house. "Aunt Emma. Let's meet at the border of Arizona." I told her while I helped her load my sibling's luggage. She nodded and hugged me.

"Please be careful Fang." She whispered. I smiled at her. "Always am." She smiled back and waved. Then I hugged Ella, Gazzy, and Angel. As the car disappeared out of sight, Iggy and I walked towards the edge of the forest.

We both closed our eyes and concentrated on our Thuruks; willing them to come to us. After about twenty seconds my Thuruk, Lilith, came running out of the forest. Lilith was a gray dapple horse **(If you don't know what that is, pic is on profile). **Her legs were blackand her body grew lighteras you moved your eyes upward. She had white hair, but there were random streaks of black.

Lilith means spirit of the night. She has powerful legs and a muscular body. When she chose me, I was told that she was the fastest Thuruk in the world. Mom had told me that Adrianna had done everything she could to make Lilith choose her, but nothing worked.

I stroked Lilith's forehead. About ten seconds later, Iggy's horse, Sergeant, came flying out of the woods. Sergeant was a bay horse. He had a dark brown coat and black mane and tail. I mounted Lilith and waited for Iggy to do the same.

Then I talked to Lilith in my mind. _We need to get to Arizona as quick as possible. _Lilith took off into the forest and I turned to make sure Sergeant was following. After about an hour of riding at a steady gallop, Iggy called my name.

"Hey Fang!" Iggy said as he brought sergeant up next to Lilith. "I was thinking…" Oh god. I hate it when he thinks. "I was thinking that when we go to Arizona, can you ummm… can you teach me how to fight?" Okay, I was not expecting that one.

"Igs, why do you want to learn how to fight?" I asked wearily. There was no answer. "You know that you only have to start training when you're sixteen. The only reason I started early was because… Well, you know why. You're normal."

Iggy snorted. "Yeah Fang. My brother is destined to save the human species, about every Dark Angel out there is trying to kill him, and since I'm near him, me too. That makes me sooo normal right?" I sighed. Sadly, the kid had a point. "We'll see. It's just; I don't think I'm the right person to teach you. Maybe Dad will."

Iggy didn't talk about it for the rest of the ride, but I knew he wasn't done. We spent the whole day riding in the forest. Tomorrow, if I wasn't mistaken, we would be riding through the Smoky Mountain and through deserts. "Igs, let's stop here. It's getting late." I told him.

We stopped for the night at a clearing with a small stream. I dug through my bag and found a matchbox. After gathering wood, I struck a match and lit the wood on fire. "We can take shifts for watch okay?" I asked Iggy. He nodded. "I'll go first. I told him. Go get some sleep." I told him.

He wordlessly nodded and curled up right where he was. I just sat there for most of the night. The fire was cozy, and I just thought. Questions swirled through my mind. What would my dad think of me? How much has Max changed? Would she even remember me? The biggest question though was how am I supposed to save the human race along with the Shadows. I shook my head.

I sat there for about an hour more, giving Iggy some extra time to sleep. Then I gently shook him awake. He sat up as I lay down. Just as I was dissolving into a warm dream, Iggy shook me awake. "Fang, someone's here." He whispered. I heard a twig snap and was immediately on my feet. I pulled out one of my hunting knives and had a large branch that was on fire in my hands.

"Who's there?" I said firmly. "Show yourself!" There was a rustle in the trees, and I was prepared to thrown my knife in that direction when Angel came running into the clearing. At first, I honestly thought I was dreaming. "Angel? What are you doing here? I could have killed you!" I whispered.

"I wanted to come with you guys." She said sweetly. I shook my head. I was about to lecture her some more when Iggy cut in. "Angel, how did you even get here?" He asked curiously. Oh yeah. How did she get here?

"I took Mystic." She said innocently. Mystic was Ella's Thuruk "Ella's here too?" Iggy asked.

Angel shook her head. "Wait. You rode Mystic here all alone?" I asked. She nodded. "How did you get her to let you ride her?' Iggy asked.

"I asked her too." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I shook my head. "So basically, you rode a Thuruk that _doesn't belong to you_ half away across the country _by yourself? _" My voice was low, but anyone could tell that there was an edge of steel in it.

"Angel, do you know how dangerous that could have been. If they had found you? You could have been killed! You're six years old. There's a reason you don't have a Thuruk. You're way too young-" Iggy started a whole lecture but I cut him off.

"How'd you get away from Aunt Emma?" I asked Angel.

She shrugged. "I asked her if I could leave, and she said yes." I stared at her. And stared. And stared. "You just asked her too?"  
>She nodded. "And she had this hazy sort of look in her eyes."<p>

"Angel. Ask Iggy to do something in the same way you asked Aunt Emma." I told her. She looked at Iggy. Her face was completely focused. It was rather cute. "Iggy, do the chicken dance." Iggy got a sort of vacant expression in his face and he started dancing. I almost smiled. Almost.

"Angel stop." I told her. She looked at me and Iggy immediately stopped dancing. "Come on Angel. You couldn't have thought of anything better to make me do?" Igs whined. Angel ignored him and yawned. What can I say? Riding across half the country really takes it out of ya. "Angel, get some rest. You're not of the hook though okay?" She pouted.

I looked away. And now for the bambi eyes. Angel ran over and hugged my feet. I couldn't help it. I had to look down. Those eyes. They were irresistible. "I'm sorry Fang. I won't do it again." Angel said in her cute baby voice.

It took all I had not to say, 'It's okay'. Instead I stuck with, "Yeah right. Get some sleep" I tried to sound firm, but I could tell that she knew I was lying. "You should sleep too Fang. We can talk about it in the morning." I contemplated whether to sleep or to take watch. I chose sleep.

I went and lay down next to Angel. She immediately snuggled really close to me. I put my arm around her small form and almost immediately fell asleep.

Iggy woke me up early that morning. We got up and packed dup our mini camp. After I called Lilith and Iggy called Sergeant, me and Angel both rode Lilith. I took her a little slower than usual just because Angel was here.

After about three hours of riding, I heard a strange rustling behind us. Through the trees, a pitch black horse with rider jumped out. The rider was wearing a black cloak. He had a pale white face, and where his eyes should be was plain white. He hissed at us.

Since Iggy was the first one he saw, he immediately pulled out his sword and jumped at him. I quickly drew my bow and launched an arrow. It went whizzing straight into the Dark Angel's heart. It screamed in a high pitched voice and dissolved into thin air. We kept riding, picking up the pace, passing forests, mountains, and deserts.

When we made it to Arizona, we dismounted our horses and walked into the city. There, we found Aunt Emma, Ella, and Gazzy.

They were all crying. I looked down at Angel who had a sheepish look on her face. "Go apologize." I said. She nodded and ran towards them. After a very tearful reunion, we looked through yellow pages to find Dr. M. Then we caught a cab that stopped at the front of a picturesque white house.

I took a deep breath and knocked the door. Everyone else waited behind me. The door opened and Dr. M stood there. When she saw me, her eyes widened. "Fang? Honey is that you?" She asked slowly. Dr. M was like my second mom.

Slowly, I nodded. In a few seconds, she threw her arms around me. I couldn't help but hug her back. It had been four years. She cupped my chin in her hand. "Look at you. You've grown up so much!"

"Mom! Who are you talking to?" I heard Max's voice coming from inside the house. Her head popped out the door behind Dr. M's. My jaw almost dropped. I was staring at the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. When I last saw Max, she was twelve.

She had glasses, braces, and really short dirty blonde hair. Now, her hair had grown, she had no braces, and her face became childish to beautiful. "Fang?" She breathed. I nodded. She attacked me with a hug, and once again, I had to hug her back. Dr. M. was talking to the kids. I looked at Max and smiled. My first real smile in months.

Max's P.O.V

I came downstairs to get cookies when I heard Mom at the door. "Look at you. You've grown up so much!" She said. I headed towards the door, confused. Who was Mom talking to? "

"Mom, who is that?" I looked out the door and saw possibly the sexiest guy ever. He looked familiar. His hair was pitch black and wind tousled. He had the most beautiful onyx eyes. I knew those eyes. This couldn't be… "Fang?" I breathed. He nodded. I couldn't believe it.

The last time I saw Fang he was twelve. He was a skinny bean pole. Practically a walking stick. Now, even through his sweatshirt, I could see a very impressive lean muscle build. He used to be just as tall as me, but now he was like six two which was tall to my five nine height. I missed him so much. I couldn't help but attack him with a hug. He caught me with his strong tan arms, and surprisingly hugged me back.

After Mom ushered us in, she asked Fang, "What brings you here. Where is Patricia?" I heard Angel whimper. Fang reached over and squeezed her hand. "Umm… She… She died a few days ago." Both my mother and I gasped. I thought of Fang's mom as my own mother. "That's why I'm here." Fang said in a stronger voice. "I need to find my father so I can complete my training."

I met Mom's eyes. I could tell that she didn't know how to break it to him, so I decided to take over. I took Fang's hand and led him outside. We walked for about ten minutes until we got to the graveyard. Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, Ella, and Mom were close behind. "No." Fang whispered.

I knew that he knew. "I'm sorry Fang. He died a few days ago too." I stopped at the grave that had Fang's father's name on it. I loved his dad. He was like the father I never had. My idiot father ran away with another woman when I was three. Fang fell onto his knees in front of his father's grave.

It hurt me to see him look this pained. After about two minutes, he stood up. None of the other siblings looked as distressed as he did. I'm guessing it was because since they were younger, they probably didn't remember him as well. "Fang, I don't want you wandering the streets, so I want you to live with us." Mom said.

Fang shook his head. "I can't. They're killing everyone I love. You guys can't be one of those people."

"Atleast for a little while." Fang though for a long time, and finally agreed. When we got back to the house, he immediately called his aunt. I heard him say yes, yes, no, yes, okay, bye, okay. That was all his side of the conversation was.

"Umm… My aunt found another trainer. His advanced class is right now. I should go." He told us. Iggy and I wanted to come, so Fang reluctantly agreed. We walked to this abandoned alley way. "Are you sure this is the right place?" I asked. Fang nodded.

He placed his hand on the wall and closed his eyes. The wall immediately split and inside was a like an office building. Fang stepped up to the front counter. "I'm here to see Jeb." He said. The man looked Fang over and pointed to a door.

We walked inside and I saw a whole bunch of men and women, probably in their mid twenties training with weapons and using hand to hand combat. There was a man standing in the front of the crowd. He looked to be in his mid forties. Iggy and I sat outside while Fang opened the door and walked inside the class. I was utterly amazed at what I saw.

Fang's P.O.V

I walked inside the classroom. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Dad was gone. I would never get to tell him the things I had to say. Everyone in the class was staring at me because this was after all the senior most combat class.

I walked straight up to Jeb and got to the point. "Sir, I would like to be in your class. I'm sixteen and my name is Fang Santiago."

Jeb, as I expected, started laughing. "I don't teach beginner classes." I nodded. "I want to be in your advanced class." I said firmly.

"You're sixteen boy. I can't let you in here."

I sighed. "Test me. I can win a fight with any weapon against anybody here." Jeb thought for a minute. "Well, if you're that intent on embarrassing yourself, very well. Everybody, this is Fang. He's our new student." Some of the men and women snickered, seeing me.

Jeb told me to get a bow and arrow. I got one. Then he told me to hit bull's eye. Everyone was gathered around me. I heard people whispering, "That's likely", or" This is going to be entertaining."

I pulled back on the string and let go. The arrow sailed forward and hit the center of the bull's eye. That sure shut them up. Then he told me to get a knife. "Hit the bull's eye again." He said. With ease, I threw the knife and it hit the bull's eye in the dead center again.

He made me do sword training which I easily passed. Finally, we did hand to hand combat. I easily pinned every student in the class, so Jeb himself decided he wanted to fight me. We revolved around each other for a few seconds until he charged.

I managed to block, but just barely. Then he punched. I twisted his hand behind him, but he elbowed me with his other hand making me stagger back. Then I launched a side kink at his stomach. It hit him and brought a satisfying oof! Then once he launched a kick at me, I caught it and twisted it, causing him to fall on the ground. Finally, I knelt to the ground and had my hand on his neck, ready to break.

The room was dead silent. Even a crown from outside had gathered to see what was going on. Jeb dismissed the class and called me to the side. "Who are you kid?" He asked.

I sighed. "I'm the Shadow Hunter." Jeb's eyes widened. 'I need to teach you magic! I want you to come here every day. Okay?" I nodded. He let me go outside. I was met by the astonished and amazed stares given to me by Iggy and Max. As we walked home, my stomach churned at the thought of my new challenge.

High School.

**What'd you guys think? REVIEW! Nudge will be coming later in the story. I need to know if this is worth continuing. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. **


	3. Compulsion Sucks

**Hey guys. I just want to say that if enough people don't read this story, I might be deleting it. I want to publish stories that are hits. I'm sorry to those who are actually interested in ****The Shadow Hunter. ****Anyway, that's not important right now. Enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter 3**

Fang's P.O.V

_Drriiinnnggg! Drrriiinnnggg! _I jumped three feet in the air and got into a fighting stance. Huh? Where are the Dark Angels? I saw a metal device that seemed familiar. Ah… An alarm clock. Has it really been that long? I stepped into a warm shower.

I changed into the brand new clothes Dr. M had bought me and went downstairs. There were fresh pancakes stacked up on the table. I literally ate one in two bites. Then I went on to finishing like seven more.

Max, Iggy, and I walked to school. I made sure I hid a hunting knife (my favorite weapon) in my pocket. Max led us to the front office. "Names?" The secretary said in a nasally voice.

"Umm… I'm Nicholas and this is my brother James. We're junior and freshman." I replied in my quiet tone.

She nodded and handed Iggy and me our schedules. Max and I had the exact same schedule. Iggy had lunch and PE with us. Max led me to my first class. It's been four years since I've been to a school. Mom homeschooled us after we moved to New York. The first teacher seemed nice enough.

She had curly, light brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked to be in her mid twenties. She smiled at me. "Hello. Please introduce yourself."

I awkwardly stood in front of the room. "Uhh... My name is Nicholas, but I like to be called Fang."

"And where did you live before you came here?"

"I lived in upstate New York."

"What was the name of you school?" What was this? An interrogation?

"Umm… I was homeschooled." I heard some of the jocks in the back snickering and whispering something that sounded a lot like 'Easy target' Then I saw Max flipping them the bird. I almost started laughing. Almost.

"Have you ever been to a school before?" I almost rolled my eyes. Why did she care?

"I went to school here until I was twelve."

"Very well Fang, You may sit down next to Miss Ride."I walked down a line of desks and sat down next to Max. She smiled at me. When lunch came, Max led me to table. "This is Nudge, Sam, and J.J" She pointed to three kids. I nodded at them.

"Guys, this is Fang and his brother Iggy." The Sam dude was glaring at me the whole time, but I pretended not to notice. After school, we stopped at the middle school to pick up Ella. Then we went to the elementary school. Gazzy and Angel were waiting for us at the entrance.

As we were walking home, Angel kept talking and talking and talking about her first day of school. We included our appropriate nods and 'Wow Angel's occasionally. As soon as I got home, I rushed off to the same spot I went to yesterday. I was going to start learning magic.

I put my hand on the brick wall in the alleyway. When I got inside, I was directed to a small white door. I knocked, and Jeb himself opened it. He ushered me inside what looked like his house, and we got started immediately.

"Today, we are going to start off by learning what magic is. Now Fang. I want you to sit down and close your eyes. Clear your mind. Now, what is this?" He poured something wet and cold onto my hand. "Describe it to me."

"Ummm… It's wet and cold. A liquid of some sort." I didn't know how else to describe the liquid.  
>"Yes, and what color is this liquid?" He asked.<p>

"I don't know. I can't see it." I was extremely confused.

"Hmmm… You rely on your outer senses. You don't need your eyes to tell me the color. Shall I give you an example? Open your eyes. Now give me anything in this room and watch." I handed him a metal cup. Almost immediately he said, "Silver, steel." He opened his eyes and looked at the steel cup.

"You see Fang. You must open your mind. Open your senses. You must clear your mind and reach out. In order to be able to do this," He held out his hand and a globe of water formed in his palm. "You must be able to know the components of water."

"H2O?" I said. Jeb chuckled. "You have much to learn Fang. Much to learn indeed. Now, that is all I can teach you for now. I want you to go home, and practice opening your mind. You will know when you have gotten it right. When you feel as if you are ready, I want you to come back to me."

I nodded. I was about to leave when I had to add something else. "Sir, my little sister Angel, she has the ability to influence people with her mind. Is that bad?" I asked. Jeb looked both amazed and curious.

"Well, that's odd. Compulsion is a very rare gift, even for a Shadow. It's very common with Dark Angels, but I haven't seen a Shadow with that ability in a long time. Your sister is very special. You must be able to block your mind in order to keep her away. I will teach you that when you learn to open your mind." He dismissed me.

When I got back to Dr. M's house, I finished my homework and helped the kids finish there's.

Adrianna's P.O.V

"WHAT!" I roared. "I told you to dispose of him." I looked down at my general. He was quivering in fear. "… We… We tried… My lady." He stuttered. "Get Dylan here NOW!" I ordered. He quickly nodded and scurried away.  
>A few seconds later, Dylan, who looked as cool and composed as usual, strided into the main hall.<p>

I looked over my nephew. "You called Aunt?" He asked. I nodded. "Yes, my army is proving rather useless in this event. I need you to take care of this boy yourself."

"Already ahead of you Aunt. I go to the boy's school. I'm disguised as a boy named Sam."

I smiled in approval. "I knew I could count on you."

"But Aunt? He doesn't have a chance of winning does he?"

My smile was replaced by a frown "Gillian**(Gillian is like this fortune teller lady. More on her later) **has said that the boy will win if he is willing to pay the ultimate price. As you know, he must master the four elements as well as one other."

"And what is the other?" Dylan asked cautiously.

I leaned down and whispered it in his ear. He smiled in a sick twisted way. "I can stop that from happening."

"I know you can. We might not be able kill him just yet, but we can weaken him. We must start by destroying his heart." I said coldly.

"I know just who to start with." Dylan said.

"Who?"

"His little sister, Angel,"

Fang's P.O.V

"_Fang! Fang! Take care of your siblings. I love you. Do you understand? I love all of you." Mom took my face in her hands and kissed my forehead. "Now go! There are going to be hundreds of Dark Angels swarming this place. You're not experienced enough to handle them yet. You need to go." _

"_Mom! Let me help you!" I screamed. She shook her head. "No honey. You _must_ stay alive at _any_ cost. Stay with your brothers and sisters. Protect them okay Fang." I nodded. She had tears streaming down her beautiful face. _

_Her brilliant blue eyes were watery and her dirty blonde hair was messy and frizzy. Mom ushered me into the room where everyone else was hiding. I held Angel in my lap, hugging her close. Gazzy's small hand was in mine as well. _

_We heard the front door burst open. There were hisses and growls. Suddenly, there was a blast of force that shook the entire house. I heard Mom yelling. It took all of my willpower to stay put and not run downstairs to help her. _

_Instead I squeezed Angel's body and Gazzy's hand even tighter. There were more rumbles and more growls and hisses until the moment I dreaded. There was a piercing shriek downstairs. One that sounded a lot like Mom. I heard thuds coming up the stairs. _

_I gently pushed Angel off of my lap. They already knew what to do. They were going to climb out the house and into the forest. I stood up and drew my bow, pointing it at the door. Iggy climbed out the window first. Angel followed. _

_By this time the knob on the door was rattling. When Gazzy jumped down, the door was half broken. By the time Ella was about to jump out, the door shattered. I fired my arrow, hitting the first Dark Angel straight in the heart. I looked to see if Ella had jumped yet. _

_She had. I knew that I could run too, but a new wave of anger flooded through me. These were the monsters who murdered my mother. I shot another arrow hitting the other Dark Angel in the heart. _

_There were about seven left. I killed two with my bow. Then I drew my knife and dug the blade into its heart. When my blind rage was over, I was left feeling extremely tired with nine bodies around me. I knew they would disappear in a matter of minutes. _

_I decided to walk down the stairs to see what was left of Mom. The image was gruesome. Her eyes were wide open, filled with fear. Her neck was clawed. Wet blood was still flowing from the wound. There was an angry slice under her left eye._

_I turned away from the gory scene. After composing myself, I walked out the door and into the forest where my now incomplete family was waiting for me. They were all in tears except for Iggy. He was trying to act strong. I could see right through it. We waited and waited in the forest. _

_Angel came to me and sat next to me. "Fang? What's going to happen now?" She asked. _

_I shook my head. "I don't know Ange. I don't know." _

"_Fang. Fang! FANG!" _

I sat up on my bed, gasping for air. "Fang. Are you okay?" I saw Max and Iggy's faces above me. Both had concern etched on their features.

I nodded. "Just a nightmare. I'm fine." But I wasn't. My dream kept repeating over and over my head. And one question repeatedly popped up. What if I had helped Mom? She might have been alive right now.

"Are you sure you're okay Fang?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I repeated. I dealt with a completely sleepless night after that.

Max's P.O.V

It was two in the morning, and I was hungry. As I was walking downstairs, I heard a strange sound coming out of Fang's room. It sounded like he was muttering incoherently. I opened the door to find him tossing and turning uncontrollably.

Not knowing what to do, I woke Iggy up. He looked at Fang and sighed. "He's having another nightmare. He tends to get them often. We just have to wake him up."

"What's he saying?" I asked. Iggy listened for a minute.

"He's dreaming about when our mom died. He still feels like it was his fault she died."

"He tells you all of this?" I questioned.

"Well yeah. Since Mom died, he tells me stuff. I don't mind though. With all the problems he has to deal with, he would blow up if he couldn't tell someone."

I nodded and shook Fang awake. "Fang. Fang! FANG!" He sat up, startled. He looked he'd seen a ghost. "Are you okay?" I asked. He nodded. "I'm fine." He said, not looking fine at all. He stared out into space and sat there, unblinking for a minute.

"Are you sure you're okay Fang?" Iggy asked.

He nodded and repeated, "I'm fine. I nodded, muttered goodnight and stalked off to bed, not even stopping to take a midnight snack. I thought about Fang all night. Boy, he'd changed a lot. He wasn't my carefree buddy anymore. He was a mature young man who had to run a family.

A pang of pity hit me. No sixteen year old should have to do that. I shook my head and tried to get a few hours of sleep.

Fang's P.O.V

I woke up for another fantabulous day of school (Note sarcasm). I don't understand how people do this five days a week this early.

Once Max, Iggy, and I got to school, I couldn't help but realize that the Sam kid wouldn't stop staring at me. It was seriously starting to creep the potatoes out of me. School was boring as usual. Mom had taught me about all of the things I was learning now.

The school day went so slow. I was almost ready to cry from being so bored. Almost. Max, Iggy, and I picked up Ella and were on our way to pick up Angel and Gazzy. I walked towards the elementary school.

Gazzy walked towards me. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Where's Angel?" I asked. He simply shrugged. I walked up to her teacher. "Hi. I'm here to pick up my sister Angel."

The teacher turned to me. "Someone already picked her up sweetie."

"What?" I almost screamed. "Someone picked her up already."

"And you let her go with them?" I asked

"I don't… know?" I immediately knew that a Dark Angel had kidnapped her. Only a Dark Angel could use compulsion in a teacher. Unless… The small hopeful part of me pointed out… Unless Angel used compulsion on the teacher as a joke and she's safe at home right now.

I ran back to Max. "Call your Mom. Ask her if she picked up Angel."

"But my Mom's at-"

"Call her." I said firmly. Max did. She shook her head at me. "She's not home." I ran a hand through my hair. Something caught my eye. On the floor, there was a piece of paper that has FANG written on it in red. I knelt down and opened the note.

_Dear Fang,_

_Your dear sister is with me. If you ever want to see her again,_

_it would be wise to do as I say. First off, I want you to stop learning magic._

_Second, I want you to kill your dear trainer Jeb. Someone is going to come and collect you._

_They will bring you to me and there, I shall decide you fate._

_If you fail to proceed as expected, your beloved Angel will be the first to go._

_The rest of your family and friends shall follow with a similar fate. _

_You have seventy two hours. Do not disappoint me.  
>-Adrianna<em>

I read the note four times. I knew I had only one option that was sane. Listen to Adrianna.

So, naturally, I went for the insane plan. Time to rescue Angel.

**How was it? Please, please, please, please, please review. I probably won't delete the story. I just need to know that people actually want this to be continued. Thank you….**


	4. Magic Is Really Tiring

**I've decided not to delete this story since it's so much fun to write. I hope you guys enjoy it too…**

_**Chapter 4**_

Fang's P.O.V

"No." I gaped at Jeb. Shall I recap? I went to Jeb's house and told him that I needed to save my sister. And his answer was no!

"I have to save my little sister."

"They won't kill her. They're only using her as bait. You're the one they really want."

"You expect me to leave her there?"

"No. Just for a little while."

"Until?"

"Until you are ready. If you go now, they will not only kill you, but they will kill her too." Jeb sent me back home to learn how to open my mind. I still didn't have a clue where to begin. I sat down on my bed, defeated. I pulled out Mom's diary and absent mindedly flipped through the pages. I skimmed through random entries, finding them funny or recalling the moments.

There were a bunch of entries about me when I was a baby. They read…

_April 16, 1992_

_Dear Diary,_

_ I'm pregnant. I don't think I'm ready to do this. After all, I'm only twenty. _

_I think I want a son. He's going to be strong, but have a gentle side just like his father. _

_I can just know that he is going to be special someday. When I told the father, I was sobbing._

_I told him he could leave if he wanted to, but instead of the reaction I was dreading, he picked me up and twirled me around in his arms. I can't wait. Nine months will be completely worth it._

There were a lot of other entries about how Mom was proud I was a boy, and how she and Dad got married. Then I found the one I was looking for.

_January 13, 1993_

_Dear Diary,_

_ I gave birth to him today, and he is beautiful. He looks like his Daddy. Black hair, black eyes…. I wonder what else he is going to inherit. I held my little bundle of joy close to my heart…_

I saw snippets of other entries from my childhood.

_January 16, 1993_

_Dear Diary,_

_ Today Nicholas got claimed the Shadow Hunter. What am I supposed to do…?_

_April 12, 1993_

_Dear Diary,_

_ Nick has the usual obsession of sucking his thumb…_

The entries sped up…

_We call him Fang because of his tooth…He's going to have a baby brother… He moved to his big boy bed… Learned to ride a bike on training wheels… Met his best friend Max… Baby sister… First training lesson… First day of school… Max and Fang do everything together… Almost was killed by trying to jump off of a tree… Fang, Iggy, and Daddy go on a small fishing trip… _

Images start flashing through my head. Mom smiling at me when I was just born, Dad holding me for the first time, looking at my baby brother (Iggy) for the first time, an elder (very powerful and experienced Shadow) placing a hand on my forehead and claiming me the Shadow Hunter.

All of these memories that I normally would not remember flashed into my head. My head felt like it was going to burst. I clutched it tight between both of my hands. I heard voices calling my name. _fang, fang, Fang, FANG, __**FANG, **_"FANG!" I snapped out to find all of my siblings, Dr. M, Max, and Jeb staring at me with concern.

Max was shaking me. "Congratulations Fang. You learned how to open your mind." Jeb said grimly.

"That's opening your mind?" I exclaimed.

"Well, it's a little more controlled then that. Every magic user has a different way he or she opens the mind. Your way is by recalling older memories of your parents. You'll start learning magic tomorrow." He said. Then he left.

Max and I just sat on the bed together. "So…. What's new?" Max tried to break the silence. I stared at her, and she burst out laughing. I couldn't help but smirk myself.

That was one of the amazing things about Max. She could easily make you smile even if half the world is against you. For me, that's literal. We lay down and just talked for a while, but no matter what I did, I couldn't get my mind off of my baby. My Angel.

*Time Skip*

The next morning was Saturday. I walked over to Jeb's place. It was time to learn magic. I had a new determination to learn now. I had to save Angel. At Jeb's house there was still a glass of water.

"I want you to try and open your mind again. In a more controlled way though. When you do it, you must touch the water." Jeb told me.

I thought of the emotions I had felt the other day. Slowly, I started feeling movements around me. Small details I never noticed before. I could read Jeb's mind. It was a mixture of pride and concentration. I dipped my hand into the water. A burst of color and light filled my mind.

The sound of the ocean, waves crashing, fish splashing, green, blue, aquamarine images flashed through my head. When I opened my eyes and looked at Jeb he told me to rethink all of the images I saw.

When I did what I was told and concentrated hard, a small globe of water formed in front of me. When I let it go, I was extremely fatigued. It was like I had gone through one of Mom's lessons.

Jeb gaped. "I have never seen anyone learn that fast.'

"Yeah, well I am the Shadow Hunter." I panted out.

"Now remember Fang. If you try using too much magic at once you will die. All the magic you are using comes from inside yourself. The more magic you use, the more energy it costs you. You have to work up the stamina. It's like running."

I understood. For about three hours, all I did was create globes of water. When I got home, I was really tired. "Can we go somewhere?" Max begged. And begged. And begged. I finally agreed. I slung my bow and arrows on my back.

She gave me a questioning look. "You always need to be prepared when you're going out."

"Where are we going?" She asked when I led her to the edge of the forest.

I ignored her question and shot one of my own. "You still afraid of horses?" It was the only thing the great Maximum Ride feared. Horses.

She nodded vigorously. "Well then you're not gonna like this one bit."

_Lilith? Lilith? Come here._ I ordered in my mind.

"Fang? What are you doing?" Max asked cautiously. Just then, Lilith burst through the forest at full speed. Max screamed right in my ear. Lilith was in a playful mood. She nipped my shoulders and licked my face. I couldn't help but laugh. Max went completely pale. I managed to calm Lilith down. Then I took Max's hand in my own. I pulled it up to Lilith's forehead.

At first she tried to pull away, but when she saw that Lilith didn't actually do anything to her, she calmed down. She continued stroking her forehead. Then I went over to Lilith's side and mounted.

I held my hand out to Max. She shook her head her eyes wide. "There is no way in hell that that's happening."

"Come on Max. Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you, not her!"

"You're lucky she didn't hear that. Oh and by the way, our minds are connected, so if you trust me you're gonna have to trust her."

"You're minds are what?"

"Just grab my hand."

"No."

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"No"

"Ye- Hey! That's not fair!" Max bit her lip. She looked so cute. She finally grabbed my hand and sat on Lilith behind me. Max held onto my waist really tightly. "Max… Can't… Breathe…" I gasped out. She loosened her grip a little bit, but not too much.

_Please go slowly._ I begged Lilith in my mind. Surprisingly she started walking. I never even knew she could walk. I explained to Max the whole concept of Thuruks and how Lilith was the fastest thuruk in the world.

We were just riding randomly around in the woods, trusting Lilith's powerful sense of direction. Lilith suddenly stiffened up. She started moving forward faster. I knew something was wrong. A Dark Angel burst out of the clearing. About fifteen followed.

I looked around. "Max. I'd hold on if I were you." _Use your full speed Lilith._ I told her. She whinnied in understanding and galloped. She went faster and faster until the trees were just a blur. Max tightened her grip around my stomach so much that I could barely breathe. I knocked an arrow onto my bow. I pulled back on the string and let it fire.

There was a loud thunk as it hit the Dark Angel in the heart. It dissolved in thin air. I knocked another arrow. I aimed right at the next Dark Angel. I let go of the string and the Dark Angel dissolved. I heard Max screaming in the background.

The Dark Angel's were on their own horses. They were black with red eyes. I killed about five of the thirty Dark Angels. I was afraid that one of them would go for Max. _Lilith, I want you to take Max away from here. I'm going to get off. I want you to run as fast as you can back to the house. _

Lilith shuddered. _No._ She replied. Yes she can talk. _Lilith please. They're going to kill her._ I didn't wait for her response. I turned to Max. "Good luck." She looked confused. I jumped off of Lilith and faced the Dark Angels. It was twenty five to one. There was absolutely no way I was going to win this.

So I did the natural thing. I charged. I took out my lethal hunting knife. I cut one off one of the Dark Angel's head off. I watched completely disgusted by how it started bubbling and reforming. I took my chance and stabbed it in the heart. There was one Dark Angel left. He was bigger than all the other ones. This one was the leader of the group.

He picked up a shield from one of the Dark Angels and through it at my face. I just barely ducked out of the way. There was no way a knife would do for this. I picked up a sword from one of the fallen Angels. As our swords met, there was a huge clang.

He kicked my feet out from underneath me. I rolled away from him. If I could just reach my bow. I saw it lying on the ground near a tree. I tried crawling towards it but the stupid Dark Angel saw what I was doing. He ran over and stepped on by bow, snapping it in half.

Well crap… I really liked that bow. I got back up and picked up another sword. As I parried his blade I felt my energy draining. The Dark Angel pinned me onto a tree. He raised his sword and slammed it to the ground, but I managed to roll out of harm's way.

My energy was rapidly draining. I felt like a good nap would do me good. The Dark Angel struck at my head again. I managed to raise my sword enough to block the sword. I knew I couldn't last another attack.

I remembered something my Mother told me. _Some Dark Angel's have the power to feast on your energy. I'll teach you how to block them… In time._

Grrreeeaaattt… She never taught me how to block them. The flashback I had had set my mind off though. I remembered the tingling sensation of water that I had gotten when I had felt it. I guess it was worth a try. Using all of the remaining energy I had, I summoned water. I expected a pathetic globe of water, but instead a roaring wave came crashing down on the Dark Angel.

Not a drop fell on me though. When the water cleared away, the Dark Angel was gone. I felt dead though. My vision was blurring and everything was merging together. _Lilith help!_ I cried out in my mind. My last coherent thought was _Jeb is going to kill me_. Then my vision became completely black.

Max's P.O.V

I'm sooooooooo confused. I not only can't believe that Fang made me ride on the freaking fastest horse in the whole entire freaking world. But the worst part was that I actually liked it! I mean the incident I had with horses made me promise never to get near one ever again.

But, I nonetheless rode one with Fang. When the scary black things with completely white eyes and pale faces came out of legit nowhere, Fang's horse started running so fast that you could barely see the trees. What surprised me the most though was how Fang was so accurate with the bow.

I couldn't help but notice how cute he looked when he was determined to kill someone. That sounded really weird, but anyway. He didn't miss a single shot with hi bow. I could barely hit the target during archery in gym, much less the bull's eye. It amazed me.

When I got back to the clearing in the forest, I sprinted back home. Mom immediately called Jeb. I have no idea how she had it. Jeb came over to our house. "Will he be okay?" I asked hopefully. Jeb looked down at me.

"Fang's been training all his life to do this. He should be fine." But Jeb didn't sound so sure. "I just hope…" Jeb trailed off.

"Hope what?" I asked, panic rising into my voice.

Jeb shook his head. "There are a lot of things that Fang is yet to learn. I just hope that none of them are used against him."

We waited. Then Jeb's head snapped up. "He's here." We ran outside to see Fang leaning on Lilith for support. He could barely stand up on his own. "What happened?" Jeb demanded.

"Leader… Drained power… Had to use magic…" Fang mumbled incoherently. Iggy ran over and supported his older brother as he was about to collapse. Jeb cursed under his breath. They part supported, part carried Fang into his room and laid him on the bed. When they came back down Jeb muttered, "Only time can tell what happens now."

About two hours later, Fang came down and Jeb started yelling at him. "What were you thinking? You could have been killed. You used magic without even knowing what to do. "

"They were draining my energy. I knew I could've died either way."

"What did a small globe of water do anyway?" Jeb asked.

"It was a wave."

"How did you learn so quickly?"

"I don't know. But…" He turned to Iggy. "You win."

Iggy looked confused. "Win what?"

"I'm going to teach you how to fight."


	5. Gaspard Igregor

_**Chapter 5**_

Max's P.O.V

I was walking up to my room when I heard laughing coming from downstairs. One laugh was sweet and melodious and the other one was deep and rumbling. I knew the melodious one was my mom's, but I didn't know who the other one belonged to. I heard mumbled voices. I listened closely.

"I love you." My mom said sweetly.

"I love you too." The deep voice muttered. What? Who was Mom talking too? I sneaked downstairs and saw Mom and… Jeb _smooching._ "What are you doing?" I all but screeched at my mom. They immediately jumped away from each other, startled.

Max? Wha what are you do... doing up?" Mom stuttered.

"I heard you guys talking to each other. What are you hiding?" I demanded. Mom and Jeb exchanged glances. Jeb nodded at Mom. She sighed.

"I want the truth Mom." I said quietly. Mom nodded.

"This… This is your father Max." I didn't fully comprehend what she was saying for the first.

"Huh?" Was my oh so intelligent response. "But you said-"Mom cut me off.

"I know what I said Max, but we were trying to protect you. We didn't want you to live the life of a Shadow so we had to separate."

"What if I want to be a Shadow? That's my choice to make not yours." Anger boiled in my system. One day ago, Mom told me that my dad left with another girl, and now she's saying Jeb, a family friend was my father.

"You don't understand Max. Once you become a Shadow, you can never be a normal human again. Look at Fang. He has Dark Angels chasing him all the time. Does he want that life? No." Jeb spoke up.

"Fang needs all the help he can get, and since I can, I intend to help." I said in my stubborn tone. Then I marched upstairs. I walked into a random room, completely forgetting that we had guests at our house.

When I opened the door, I saw Iggy reading a book on the bed. Then, I looked over at the other side of the room and saw Fang doing pull ups using the ledge of the door the door that lead to the bathroom.

He was wearing a sleeveless black undershirt. I couldn't stop staring at the big bulges on his arms as he was pulling himself up. I cleared my throat and he let go of the ledge. His eyes widened slightly when he saw me, and his cheeks became a light shade of pink. He threw on a shirt.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. I completely ignored him. Iggy was staring up at us with mild amusement.

"Where did you get those?" I asked.

"Get what…" Fang looked genuinely confused. I poked him in the arm. "Those."

"Oh." Fang rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Mom didn't exactly go easy on me."

"Oh."

"Are you okay?" He asked in his soft gentle voice. I sat down on the bed and sighed. He sat down next to me. "Not really. I just found out that Jeb's my dad." I answered.

"I thought you said your dad-"

"Yeah me too." I cut him off.

Silence. "Well that's awkward." Fang finally said after a minute. I nodded. "You think." There was a moment of silence. Then I turned to face him.

"You know, there is one good thing that comes out of this. Since you're training Iggy, you can train me too. Then I can help you."

Fang shook his head. "No way." I glared at him.

"Why not."

"Because you're a-"

"Don't you dare say because I'm a girl."

"I wasn't going to say that."

"You implied it."

"No I didn't."

"Ughhh… You're so irritating." I grumbled.

"You know, Shadow women are stronger then Shadow men." Fang said quietly. I turned to him, now interested.

"Really?" He nodded.

"So why won't you teach me then?" I asked.

"Because you're human."

I groaned. "Great… Not only do I have to deal with boys being sexist, but now I have to deal you being speciesist." He smirked at me. "Besides I'm only _half_ human. That doesn't count. Please Fang. Pretty please with a cherry on top?" I did my best impression of bambi eyes, Fang's one and only known weakness. That's the reason why Angel has him wrapped around her pinky finger.

He laughed at my attempt. I whacked him up top the head. "Fine. I'll teach you." He agreed. I smiled. "I knew you'd agree."

"We start tomorrow morning at seven sharp." Fang became serious all of a sudden. My jaw dropped.  
>"That early?"<p>

"Mom used to say that you learned the best in the morning. You don't have to come though." I stuck my tongue out at him and stalked out of the room.

Fang's P.O.V

When she left our room, I kind of felt like all the warmth in my room was gone. When Max came back into my life, one of the holes in my heart was mended. I still didn't know how I felt about her. I crawled under the sheets and closed my eyes.

"You love her don't you?" Iggy said quietly. I froze.

"Ofcourse I love her. She's my best friend." I said, pretending to not know what he was talking about, but Iggy being the smart kid he is, didn't fall for it.

"You know what I mean. You love love her."

"She's just a friend Igs." I told him sternly, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to believe that."

Iggy's P.O.V

I watched with mild humor as Fang struggled to pull on a shirt: His face turning a light shade of pink. Never before had I seen Fang' blush before, and I have to say that it was hilarious to watch. I couldn't help but notice that when Fang talked to Max, his face changed. It was more peaceful.

I learned that Max was half Shadow, but that was pretty much all I got from the conversation we had. When I asked Fang if he loved her he said they were just friends. Just from the tone of his voice, I knew he was lying. I put down my book and got under the covers. I needed all the sleep I could get because tomorrow was going to be a long and painful day.

Next Day

Max's P.O.V

"Oof" I cried out as I got slammed to the ground by my dear friend _again_.

"You told me to go all out on you." Fang said innocently. I scowled at him. We had been training for like two hours. For the first hour all we did was pushups, sit ups, planks, and a whole bunch of exercises that I don't know that name of. When we actually started the fun stiff, I was so sore.

Then like the idiot I was. I asked Fang to go all out on me. Let's just say, waking up tomorrow morning is not going to be fun. "You need to be strong enough to block my kicks." Fang chastised.

"Well, I have no strength left in my arms after what you made me do." I grumbled.

"Kick me."

"What?"

"Kick me as hard as you can, right here." Fang put his hand on his stomach. I didn't need another word. I shot my leg up and kicked him in the stomach as hard as I could. He didn't even flinch, and I'm pretty strong.

I kicked again repeatedly and still got no reaction. Then I decided to aim for the area that was every boy's weakness. I kicked a little lower hoping to hit my target, but instead felt his hand catch my ankle. "Cheater."He said, smirking at me. "Anyway, you see the rock hard stomach? That comes from vigorous ab exercises."

"Spar me one more time." Fang said. I was kind scared. Fang is not someone you'd want to get on your bad side. We got into position. I launched my first kick. Fang ofcourse caught it. He straightened my foot. "Never use your toe. Only use the heel, the top, or the palm of your foot." We continued sparring, and Fang taught me some key points like how to block punches, how to block kicks, and how to throw punches without it hurting too much. Then he sparred with Iggy, teaching him similar skills and finished off the training session. Jeb came over. Again.

I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel about him. He was just trying to protect me. I ignored him that day though. I knew he was here to teach Fang. Maybe, just maybe I could learn to forgive him. He could be the dad I've always dreamed about. Maybe.

Fang's P.O.V

Jeb came over and sat on the kitchen table with me. He dropped a few books along with them. "Today, we're not going to do any training." He said. "Instead, I'm going to teach you some of the history of our race. I'm sure you're mom didn't have time to teach you that." I shook my head.

"Do you know what identifies you as a Shadow Hunter? How you know you've become one?" He asked. I shook my head again. "You get traits from an animal. It's what humans call a mutation. You can usually keep them hidden though."

He continued. "The weakest Shadow Hunter stays human. Not many Shadow Hunters stay human. Then you can become part shark. You develop gills and grow large teeth." He showed me a picture of a Shadow Hunter. "This is Michael Sartre." I knew that I didn't want to become part shark.

"A step higher than a shark is a cheetah. You still have large teeth, but you have claws and can run very fast." Now that's pretty cool. I thought to myself. He showed me another picture. "This is Stephanie Bushman." She didn't look that mutated. "This is the most common mutation."

"Which one was Adrianna?" I asked.

"Adrianna _is_ one step higher than the cheetah. She's a cobra: The strongest of all the mutations. She has poisonous fangs that will kill in two minutes. It is said that it is one of the most painful ways to die."

"She can still do it?" I asked.

"It's the only identity she has left that proves her a Shadow Hunter."

"There's nothing more powerful than a cobra?" I asked.

"Well, have you heard of Gaspard Igregor?" I shook my head.

"He was the most powerful Shadow Hunter we have ever had. Many people say that he was mostly human when he was transformed."

"What animal was he?" I asked.

"The king of them all." Jeb replied. "Do you know what is bigger than the Earth itself?" He asked.

"Space." I guessed.

"The sky. We are at the mercy of the sky. This is how Igregor was the king. He was part falcon. The ruler of the sky means the ruler of the Earth. Igregor saved our race from the ancestors of the Dark Angels. Do you know what the Igregorvic is?" Jeb asked.

"Hope." Was my one word answer.

"Correct. It is the most powerful symbol and the most powerful emotion. Even more powerfeul then anger and fear. Nobody uses the symbol anymore. It's too powerful. Only Igregor did. He picked up the people's fallen spirits with that hand symbol." Jeb said.

Jeb ended his lesson. Later that night, I dreamt Angel being tortured. Again. I slipped off my blankets and packed some supplies. I was about to open the front door when Jeb stepped into the hallway. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked.


	6. Rescue Gone Wrong

_**I know you all want to kill me right now, and I'm sooooo sorry. I promise I'll update each story as soon as possible. **_

_**Chapter 6**_

Fang's P.O.V

I turned around to see Jeb staring at me. He wasn't glaring, he just looked curious. "I can't take it anymore. I have to go rescue her." I said quietly. He shook his head.

"Fang, you can't. You know-"

"I'm not letting her rot there anymore. It's my job to protect her. My mother died peacefully when I promised her I'd look after my siblings. I promised her and you know something Jeb? I never let down on my promises."

"I understand Fang, but I can't let you," Jeb repeated.

Anger shot through me, "Well here's the thing. _I wasn't asking for your permission._"

"Fine. If you won't listen to me, I'm coming with you," Jeb wouldn't back down. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.

"Fine," I agreed.

"We leave tomorrow. Dark Angels are more powerful at night, you know that don't you?" Jeb asked.

"Yeah whatever," I grumbled. I turned around and walked back upstairs. It was two in the morning. I slipped under the covers, careful not to wake Iggy up. Too bad he was already awake.

"You're leaving?" He asked. I nodded. "When?"

"Tomorrow. Early in the morning," I told him.

"I'm guessing you're not going to let me come with you?"

"You guessed right."

Iggy sighed, knowing that arguing with me to let him come was completely useless. I knew he was upset that I was leaving so I faced him. "Hey, don't worry about me. I'm going to be fine. Besides, Jeb's coming with me," I whispered reassuringly.

"I wish I was strong enough to help you." Iggy said quietly.  
>"You don't want to be," I replied. "You're a kid. You should enjoy not having to take any lives. That day will come though. The day you have to stop someone's heart. Nothing to look forward to."<p>

"What about you huh? You're a kid too. Shouldn't you be enjoying? Shouldn't you be able to just be a kid?" Iggy raised his voice.

"I don't really have that option. You and I are different Iggy. You don't have to be like me. It's not the path you want to take. Trust me." I wasn't lying.

"I know." Iggy muttered.

"Get some sleep." I ended the conversation. I turned around, not getting any sleep due to my anxiousness. At five in the morning, I slithered out of bed. Jeb was already waiting near the door. I had my stuff packed, and he had is things as well. We walked out of the house. Jeb had already taught me how to use all of the elements except for fire. He said that that was the most difficult, and he would wait.

We walked to the forest and mounted our Thuruks. Lilith seemed as anxious as I was. A thought suddenly struck me and made me feel so stupid. "Um… Jeb? Where are we going?" I asked sheepishly. Jeb chuckled.

"We should start by going to Adrianna's palace in Gemina."

"Antarctica?" Let me explain. Hidden in human continents and oceans, Shadow and Dark Angel countries exist. Like in America, Tsutsano, the largest Shadow kingdom where the Shadow Hunter's palace is, exists. It's like the capital city. Similarly, Gemina, which is the capital city for the Dark Angels, is in Antarctica.

_Well, you heard that Lilith. To Antarctica we go!_ I told her in my mind. Let's just say she wasn't particularly thrilled about the idea. Yeah, neither was I. So, Jeb and I rode north. I prayed to all the gods that I knew of that Angel was okay. At least not dead. Little did I know that was going on at home wasn't going to please me.

Iggy's P.O.V

As soon as I heard Fang leave the house, I got up as well and snuck into Max's room.

"Max?" I poked her in the head.

"Mhhhhmm," She groaned.

"Max!" I poked her again.

"Mmmmmmmmhhhhhmmmmmmm" She moaned.

"MAX!" I screamed, slapping her. She yelled and fell off the bed. "What Iggy. What could you possibly want at…" finds a clock, "five thirty in the morning?" She looked angry. Note to self: Never wake Max up in the morning unless absolutely necessary.

"Fang left," I said simply. She perked up immediately.

"He left? Where?" She asked urgently.

"To get Angel. I want to go too and I realized that you probably would want to come too."

"No duh. When are we leaving? Wait a minute. Wouldn't we be more harm than help for Fang? I mean we can't fight that well, and Fang would always have to keep watch on us." Max had brought up a good point.

"I can make bombs. I don't know what you can do, but that should help Fang. Aren't you like a some degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do? That should help him."

Max looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well I guess…" Max and I went downstairs. We left a quick note to Dr. M, knowing well that she was going to freak. Then we left, completely defenseless. Well, except for my sack of bombs.

Max didn't seem ecstatic at riding a horse again but too bad. After reasoning with Sergeant for a few minutes, he let the 'pretty girl' ride him with me. I told him to follow the tracks of Lilith and the other Thuruk with him. That's the cool thing about Thuruks. They have amazing noses. We rode for a long time. We passed trees and deserts and rivers and a whole lot of other stuff.

One time, Max asked me where we were, and I honestly didn't have an answer. I didn't even know what continent we were in anymore considering we had gone through oceans** (I'll explain later)**. Food was very scarce and the only water we had was in our tiny water bottles. Where were they keeping my little sister?

_Hey, are we getting any closer? _I asked Sergeant exasperated. My butt hurt from riding and my stomach hurt from Max clutching it so tightly.

_You know boss, you're asking me to chase the fastest horse in the world. No we're not getting any closer. Further actually. I feel them slowing down though. The second horse seems to be tired. He is almost as fast as Lilith. The third or fourth fastest_.

I groaned. _How much longer? _I asked.

_About three hours at this speed. _I made sure I didn't tell Max that. We continued riding for a loooonnngg time. When Sergeant started slowing down, we were in a land of ice. Glaciers and massive ice caps dominated everything. Antarctica?

_Lilith and the other horse are around the snow mound. Do you want me to go there? _Sergeant asked me. I shook my head.

Sergeant's ears suddenly perked up. _What's wrong?_ I asked.

_Dark Angels. They're here. A whole army of them. I feel them. They're coming in the other direction. They'll hit your brother about… Now. _I heard the sound of ice crunching. Then the shrieking of horses. The twang of a bow alerted me that Fang already knew they were coming. I mouthed the word Dark Angels at Max's terrified face. She got the hint and nodded.

Max and I went through the clearing to see that Dark Angels were surrounding Jeb and Fang. Fang caught my eye and looked surprised. Then he just looked angry. He mouthed 'You're dead' at me before he turned around and stabbed a Dark Angel.

"We have orders to take you to Gemina," A Dark Angel hissed. Jeb and Fang locked eyes for a moment before Fang dropped his weapon and raised his arms. Jeb did the same thing. My mouth dropped open, as did Max's. What were they doing?

"We surrender." He said Dark Angels immediately surrounded him.

"Your weapons." One snarled. Fang threw his bow and his quiver of arrows on the floor. Then, he reached into his pocket and dropped about five hunting knives. How many weapons did he have? Finally, he allowed a Dark Angel to bind his hands behind his back.

Similarly, Jeb threw his weapons which consisted of an axe, a crossbow, and a pocket knife onto the grass. His hands were bound as well. The Dark Angel saw Max and me then. "They saw us. Take them as well. Slaves are always needed." So, that's how Max and I ended up bound and pushed along next to Fang and Jeb.

"I told you to stay at home." Fang growled. It was a whisper though, so only I could hear it.

"Well, I didn't listen to you." I replied.

"I know. You never do." Fang said angrily.

"Why did you do that? You just surrendered without even trying." I asked, genuinely confused.

"Use your big head idiot. Is it easier to sneak into an enemy territory or to be taken straight there? You do the math." He whispered harshly.

"Shut up!" A Dark Angel hissed. We walked in silence for the rest of the way. That Dark Angels led us to Gemina which was close since we rode most of most of the way. The city Gemina was absolutely breathtaking. And cold. There was a huge ice castle which reminded me a lot of the White Witch's in Narnia.

They led us into a cliché looking dungeon and pushed us into a cell. Then they left but not before snarling at us. As soon as they left, Fang took off his shoe and a knife clattered onto the floor. Picking it up with his mouth, he crawled over to Max and cut her hands free. Then she untied him. Once everyone was untied, he looked at the cell. I pulled out a pick locking kit and got to work. After about twenty minutes, the door swung open.

I looked over at Fang. "See… I can be useful." Fang glared and walked out of the cell muttering, "You can be an idiot too."

Fang's P.O.V

I didn't know why I was so angry that Iggy came along too. Maybe it was my overprotective brother instinct kicking it. Maybe it was the hope that he didn't get sucked into the mad universe I had been sucked into the instant I was born. Maybe it was the fact that Max dragged him along.

"Hey. You wouldn't be able to get out of here if it wasn't for my pick locking skills." Iggy countered. I didn't even look at Max. I knew if I did, she would know that I wasn't actually that angry at her. I walked down the long corridor of prison cells screaming Angel's name.

I was losing hope that she was actually alive since it had more than three days. That was until I heard a small "Fang?" It was so soft that at first I thought it was just my imagination. Then it came again. This time much louder. I started running, as did everyone else until I saw a little blonde head and sparkling blue eyes.

The figure was in the corner of the cell. I decided to show Iggy that I was didn't need him to pick locks for me. Aiming at the lock on the door, I sent a strong side kick at it. The door itself collapsed. I ran towards Angel, getting onto my knees and pulled her into my chest. She started sobbing and I just stroked her hair letting het get it out.

She looked up at me and touched my face. "You're real." she whispered. A pang of guilt pierced through my heart. It was soon replaced by anger. I pulled her up, standing up but still holding her to me, and brushed her tears away.

"I'm real." I whispered. Then I smiled and hugged her.

"How sweet." I heard a familiar voice say. I looked up. Angel turned her head but still held onto me tightly. "Sam?" I asked extremely confused.

"It's Dylan. I was pretending to be Sam just so I could spy on you, but something tells me you're not going to Cactus Shadows High School. It took you long enough to come here but no matter. It was fun hearing your sister scream."

I felt Angel tremble and I held her tighter. I was about to attack Dylan when there was a loud crack. The floor gave right beneath Iggy and he fell right through. I was too stunned to do anything, and then I realized that this was out chance to get Angel out of here. I picked her up and handed her to Max who wordlessly took her. Then I kicked Dylan's feet out from under him and stomped on his stomach causing blood to spill out of his mouth. I looked back at where Iggy fell, but the floor was perfectly normal as if it didn't break in the first place.

Iggy's P.O.V

"Oof." I cried out as I hit the cold, hard floor. I saw the hole above me closing slowly. Great. I looked around. The room was beautiful. It was decorated with ice sculptures and crystals. What amazed me the most was the large ice throne in the middle of the room.

Sitting on it was a beautiful woman. She had curly red hair with an ice crown placed on top of it. Her skin was like the snow. White. And her eyes… They were a light blue. So light that you could barely see the difference between her pupil and her eye whites. Her face was set in a serene expression. Regal and calm.

"Hello Iggy. I'm sure you know me." Her voice was smooth, like a song to my ears. I shook my head slowly.

"Well, my name is Adrianna." My jaw dropped. There was no way this goddess of a women was the cause of all my problems. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. Suddenly, coming here didn't seem like a good idea.

"I need your help Iggy. Will you help me?" I wanted to say yes. She seemed so innocent. I shook my head.

"N-no." I stuttered. I took a few steps back. She stood up off of her throne. Her elegant white dress made a swishing noise as she walked towards me.

"I wasn't asking you. You will help me Iggy." Her voice was cold now. It was like shards of ice were piercing through me. Her hand touched my face. I was expecting it to be cold, but it was warm. A comforting touch. I looked up at her. Big mistake.

Her light blue eyes turned a darker until they were a navy color. "You will take this dagger and stab it through your big brother's heart." She thrust a dagger in my hand.

At that moment, the only thing that mattered to me was killing Fang. Why did he get all the power? Even as a child Fang always got attention. He was always more important. Adrianna was giving me a chance to get my revenge. For once, I was going to prove that I can be better than him.

Fang's P.O.V

"Where is he?" I asked Dylan. "Where did Iggy land Sam, Dylan, whoever the hell you really are?" My face was inched away from his and my hand was clenching his shirt collar.

"He's with my aunt." Dylan grunted. I knew he could tell from my expression that 'my aunt' wasn't going to cut it.

"Adrianna. Your brother is as good as dead now." Dylan smirked. I snarled and slammed his head against the wall. He fell to the ground, limp. I ran out of the prison to find Max and Jeb. Max was waiting with Jeb. They both were fighting Dark Angels. Jeb was using magic while Max was using her hands and legs. There were flashes of orange (fire) and blue (water) coming out of Jeb's hands.

Angel was sitting behind Max and Jeb. I was amazed at Max's grace and strength while she was fighting. It was easy to tell she was a Shadow and a damn strong one at that. She let out an enraged roar as she decked a Dark Angle in the head causing its neck to snap. As the Dark Angel was putting its neck in place, Jeb shot fire through its heart, burning it.

Now I needed to find Iggy. "Fang!" I heard a yell. I turned around and saw Iggy advancing towards me with a menacing look in his eye and an ice dagger in his hand.

"Iggy?" I asked warily. He threw a punch at my face which I was too stunned to block. I staggered back. "What the hell?" I yelled clutching my bloody nose. Max had just launched a side kick into a Dark Angel's head, sending it flying. Then she looked at me, shocked at what Iggy had done.

I also noticed that the Dark Angels stopped attacking and were now forming a ring around me and Iggy. Something's wrong. "Max, take Angel and leave." Let it be known for future reference and when Max calls me a sexist pig that I sent Max with Angel not because I wanted to protect her but because she's the only one I trust to protect Angel besides myself and since I was a bit preoccupied at the moment, I sent Max. _Lilith. _I called, reaching out to her in my head "I called Lilith. Meet us at your house."

Lilith burst into the middle of the ring the Dark Angel had formed. She hissed at them. I lifted Angel onto Lilith's back and gave her a small reassuring smile when she gave me a worried look. Max sat behind Angel. "Keep her safe." I whispered to Max. Then I patted Lilith's neck.

_Take them home. Ride hard. Don't stop no matter what._ Lilith neighed her consent.

_Of course. _She said in my head. "Fa-" Max didn't get to finish what she was saying because Lilith was already gone.

I let out a sigh of relief knowing that Angel was going to be okay. Then I turned my attention back to Iggy.

"He's under compulsion Fang." Jeb said. I cursed under my breath.

"What do I do?" I asked.

Before Jeb answered, Iggy screamed, charging at me with his dagger. I pulled out my own hunting knife and got ready to attack. Is this what my life has come to, having to use force against my own little brother?

No One's P.O.V

Adrianna smirked as she sat comfortably in her ice throne. She observed the boy who was claimed the Shadow Hunter. She could see the pain in his eyes. The pain from having to fight his own brother. She laughed at this. Causing pain had always been one of her specialties.

All Adrianna had to do now was sit back and see if the boy was a worthy opponent. After all, she was the one fighting him. She was the one controlling his brother. Whether he was killed or he had to kill his brother, the Shadow Hunter would be crushed after this battle for there was no way they both would survive.

**I tried making this a really good chapter. Oh and as the chapters progress Max will become REALLY REALLY important. I'm soooooooooooooooo sorry for the delay again. One more thing… Does the dialogue sound too sappy? **

**Finally back from the dead,**

**FangGirlForever **


	7. The True Colors of Maximum Ride

**I know. I'm falling behind. I really can't keep up with school and soccer and everything else while doing FanFiction. Anyway, enjoy. **

_**Chapter 7**_

Fang's P.O.V

The blade was shaking in my hand. Everytime I had to parry a slash, the knife was getting heavier and heavier. I can't do this. I thought. Iggy was more skilled with the blade then I had ever seen him.

Adrianna. Adrianna is the one controlling him. I reminded myself just as Iggy let out a bloodcurdling scream and swung the dagger at me with unbelievable strength. I barely managed to raise my knife in time to block his blade.

He kept pushing into my knife and I knew that if I didn't do something, he would kill me. I summoned my energy and made a blast of wind shoot Iggy backwards. It took quite a bit of energy, but I tried to cushion his fall as much as I could. I didn't want Iggy to feel too much pain. I just needed to buy myself some time to think about what I was going to do.

Jeb's P.O.V

I watched as the two brothers fought. I have to say I was both impressed and disappointed. I was impressed at the skill in which Fang was fighting at. For a sixteen year old boy, he was more skilled then most of the very experienced Shadows. He was fighting and keeping Adrianna at bay with a hunting knife.

But he was treating this like a training exercise. I could tell he was trying not to hurt Adrianna because he thought he would be hurting his little brother. He wasn't going to last much longer with that intention. Shadow Hunter's must to be heartless. They can never be successful unless they're ruthless. This was the most important lesson for a Shadow Hunter, and Fang was about to learn it the hard way.

I took my attention off of Fang and turned to the Dark Angels. If we were going to get out of here, I was going to have to take care of them. The one that noticed me reaching for my sword snarled and charged.

Adrianna's P.O.V

I was quite frustrated about the fact that this fight was still going on. It should have been easier to kill the boy. I walked up to the balcony in my palace. I wanted to look at the Shadow Hunter with my own eyes. When I did see him, I gasped and fell to the ground. Impossible. My loss in concentration for a second and that was all he needed. He slammed the hilt of his knife into his brother's head, making the other boy go unconscious.

I couldn't care at the moment though. All I could think was, Gaspard, is that you?

Max's P.O.V

Have I ever mentioned my incurable phobia of horses? Well I am now. Most of you must be wondering what I'm doing on the world's fastest horse bareback. For all those who are pondering this, you're not the only ones my friend. I am wondering the exact same thing.

"Don't worry Max, you're doing fine." Angel said quietly. She seemed so calm. The blonde curls flying away from her face made her look more, well… angelic.

"Did I say that out loud?" I asked her feeling slightly embarrassed.

"No."

"Then how did you-"

"I read your mind." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh that's nic- wait what?" I was thoroughly confused.

"Yup." She said. Okay then… I made a mental note to ask Fang about it when I saw him. If I saw him. I scolded myself for thinking that way. Fang would come back. He had to. We continued riding back to Arizona, when I heard a rustling in the trees behind me.

Lilith knew before me, because she had tensed and was pouring on the speed. Out of the greenery, three black horses with hooded riders emerged. Lilith would have been able to outrun them, but two of the riders had bows and arrows. I cursed under my breath when an arrow struck a tree that was a few inches away from my head.

I knew I had to fight them, but how? Then an arrow lodged itself into Lilith's leg. She whinnied in pain as her leg collapsed. The sudden movement caused me and Angel to fly off of her. I landed hard on my back, banging my head against a tree. My vision blurred. I tried to clear my eyes when I heard Angel screeching my name.

A Dark Angel was advancing towards her slowly, sword in hand. I couldn't let this happen. I thought of Angel, the bouncy blonde curls, the innocent face, and cute voice. I remembered the day Fang ran up to me saying 'I'm gonna have a baby sister' over and over and over again. He had a big smile on his face which was rare for him even then.

I remember Iggy's chubby eight year old face smiling up at me. Ella was only six and she was glad she was having a baby sister. The little diva wanted someone to give fashion advice to. Gazzy was too young to react, but I knew that they loved Angel with all their hearts. I myself loved the little cutie. She was like the little sister I've always wanted.

I couldn't, I wouldn't allow Angel to be killed. Suddenly, my palms burned. I looked down at my hands and realized that not only were my hands clenched, but my fingernails were claws. I felt a surge of power in my body. It was like a massive adrenaline rush. My eyes cleared up, and I felt like a hawk. My eyesight and hearing was amazing. I bared my now pointy teeth at the Dark Angels. All three of them looked up in surprise.

Without really realizing what I was doing, I charged at them with unbelievable speed. A Dark Angel swung a sword at me. I caught its wrist and twisted it. The sword come into my hands. Then, I savagely stabbed the sword into the Dark Angel's heart, making the same mushy sound that you hear when you step into wet mud. The Dark Angel crumpled.

I whirled around, miraculously knowing that a Dark Angel was behind me. It also had a sword in its hand. It swung at my head. I ducked and swung at its legs. With a thwack sound, my sword sliced through its legs like butter. It fell to the ground, but its legs were rapidly bubbling back. As it was healing, it threw a knife at me. It sliced my cheek, but I didn't even register the pain.

I just grew even angrier. The only thought going through my head was 'no mercy'. I stabbed the Dark Angel in the heart and watched it die with cold satisfaction. There was only one left. It hissed at me ,and I ruthlessly swung the sword I'd stolen from the first Dark Angel at it. It parried the blade easily and swung back at me. I started going on the defense, parrying and blocking, but the Dark Angel got cut me on the back of the knee.

I collapsed onto the ground. It snarled at me and started walking back towards Angel, who looked scared out of her mind. I wasn't sure if she was more scared of the Dark Angels or me. I looked around for a weapon, and my hand came in contact with a bow. A stray arrow was lying near it. I took a deep breath and knocked the arrow, aimed, and fired. The shot would have made my gym teacher proud.

It hit the Dark Angel in the back, not killing, but stunning it long enough for me to scramble off of the ground and stab it in the heart. With all the Dark Angel's gone, I took a deep breath, and suddenly collapsed to the ground. I didn't have any more energy. My cheek and leg burned like crazy. The claws on my hands and my sharp teeth receded. My eyesight and hearing became normal again.

I was exhausted. I couldn't even pick up the sword the Dark Angel was using anymore. I saw Angel trembling. I crawled over to her.

"Sweetie, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Please don't be afraid of me." I said in the most soothing voice I could. She suddenly pounced on me, hugging me as tightly as she could.

"I'm not afraid of you Max. You saved my life, but you're hurt." She cried. I touched my cheek, feeling the warm blood seeping through my fingers. I took my hand off of the gash. Angel gasped. "Max, you're cut!" She breathed.

"What about it." I asked, confused.

"It's… It's healing." She sounded like she was in a daze. I felt my cheek again, and sure enough, the skin felt as smooth as it was before the fight. I touched the cut on the back of my knee, and sure enough all the pain and blood vanished. I was amazed and proud of myself. A pained whine from Lilith brought me out my daze.

"I wonder if it works on other injuries." I thought out loud. I pushed myself off of the ground and walked over to Lilith. I gently dislodged the arrow from her leg. Blood bubbled up from the deep puncture, and she let out another cry of agony. I pressed my hand onto her wound and felt the tendons and skin sew itself back together. I took my hand off of her leg.

Lilith, realizing the pain was gone, experimentally put weight on her leg. Seeing that the pain had actually receded, she stood up and looked like she expected me to mount her. I eyed Angel. "We should probably keep going." I told her. She nodded, and I helped her on Lilith.

Then I mounted behind her. Sensing that we were ready, Lilith started galloping. We were almost home.

Fang's P.O.V

I heard the blasts of magic that Jeb was using to hold off the Dark Angel's behind me, but I wasn't concentrating on any of it. My focus was only on the red head lying on the ground before me. The so familiar face that I had grown up with had just tried to kill me. Just thinking about it made me feel like someone had punched me in the stomach.

"Fang?" Iggy whispered. Relief flooded into my system. He was okay. "Wha- What happened?"

"It's nothing Igs." I said soothingly. I knelt down in front of him. "Are you alright." Faster than I could process, he sat up and stabbed the ice dagger into my stomach. I was too stunned to do anything.

"I'm fine Fang. I'm doing great actually." That possessed voice was back. I collapsed onto the ground, immediately realized that the dagger was poisoned. Iggy smirked and raised the dagger to deliver the finishing blow. I closed my eyes.

'I'm sorry Iggy.' I thought as I readied myself for death. But death never came. I opened my eyes to see a wall of fire between me and Iggy. Jeb. Jeb had created it. When the wall disappeared so had Iggy and the pain from my stomach suddenly came. It was unbearable. I scrunched my eyes shut hoping it would just go away.

Jeb's P.O.V

I turned to look at Fang just as Iggy was about to kill him. Without even thinking, I made a wall of fire around him. I quickly called for Star, my Thuruk. Star arrived just as I killed the last Dark Angel around me. I let the fire wall around Fang evaporate. We didn't have much time. Dark Angels from Adrianna's castle were already charging at us.

I ran over to Fang and lifted his surprisingly light body onto Star's back. Quickly mounting behind him and putting my arms around him to make sure he wouldn't fall off, I told Star to get us out of here as quickly as possible.

Star was very fast. Almost as fast as Lilith but not quite. She was still fast enough though. The Dark Angels didn't have time to mount their horses and follow, so they just stood there watching us gallop away.

Once I was sure we were far enough away from Gemina and Antarctica, I stopped Star at a small creek somewhere in Canada. Laying Fang down, I took off his shirt to see the damage that had been done. His stomach was repulsive. It was a mix of green, blue, yellow, and red. The blade was definitely poisonous.

This was _Stilonda_ a poison that was originated in Gemina. I knew Fang wouldn't last the ride back unless I did something now. I racked my brain thinking of something that would work. I thought of a healing plant that could be found anywhere. It took me about four minutes to locate the herb and go back to Fang.

This wouldn't heal him, but it would slow down the poison just enough so that we could get back to Arizona and get special help. I filled my water bottle up with creek water and crushed the herb. Then I put it in the water. Tipping Fang's head back and holding his mouth open, I poured the herb into his mouth. It probably tasted like dirt, but Fang was too unconscious to tell.

I had to hold his mouth closed to make sure he swallowed it instead of drooling it out. When he drank the whole bottle, I lifted him back onto Star. I was going to have a serious talk with him when he woke up.

Max's 

When we finally got back to my house, I dismounted Lilith. She galloped off, leaving me and Angel standing in front of my familiar porch. The front door slammed open, and Ella and Gazzy came sprinting out. Completely ignoring me, they ran straight to Angel hugging her and asking her a whole bunch of questions. Then they finally noticed me and smiled. I tiredly smiled back and walked into the house.

"MAXIMUM RIDE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" oh shit. I just remembered that I never told Mom that I was leaving. Mom came storming into the living room. Looking like a she devil. Her hair was all over the place, her eyes were puffy and blood shot, and she looked absolutely livid. If I wasn't so exhausted, I would have run away.

"I'm sorry mom, I really am. I just felt like I had to help." I said softly.

"This is exactly why I didn't want you to know about the Shadow world." Mom replied. Before I could give her my angry response, Jeb kicked that door open carrying an unconscious Fang in his arms. All my anger evaporated into fear. Fear for Fang's life.

"What happened?" I cried.

"He let his feelings get the best of him." Jeb said grimly.

"You mean…" I didn't have the words to finish.

"Yes. Iggy stabbed him in the stomach with a poisoned blade. He could have evaded it but… he couldn't bring himself to hurt Iggy. Luckily, the blade didn't hit anywhere fatal. If it had, Fang would already be dead." Jeb said.

"Iggy did this?" Mom looked horrified.

"Adrianna used compulsion to turn him against Fang. She was controlling him. Fang knew that, but he still couldn't fight Iggy. This just proves that he isn't ready to face Adrianna. The battle has been lost before it even started." Jeb said angrily.

"He's just a child Jeb. You can't expect-"Mom started.

Jeb cut her off "I don't care if he's a child. We need him. He's the Shadow Hunter. Do you think Adrianna or any Dark Angel is going to take it easy on him because he's a child? You don't know them like I do Valencia. They're monsters."

Jeb set Fang down on the couch. "We need to get him to a healer. They're only in Tsutsano." Jeb said.

"Max can do it. We got attacked by Dark Angels when we were coming back. She healed herself and Lilith when they got hurt." Angel piped up. I was hoping she wouldn't say that. Everyone in the room became quiet.

"Well can you?" Ella asked impatiently.

I sighed. "Yes." Nobody moved. I walked over to Fang and lifted his shirt. The wound was disgusting. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Then I placed my hand on Fang's wound. Nothing happened at first, but then I felt something under my hand move. The tendons were putting themselves back together. All the flesh that had been severed was also being stitched. Finally, the skin put itself back together.

When I took my hand off, there was liquid floating in the air. "What the-"

"That's the poison." Jeb said, putting it in a cup. He looked amazed. I looked around and saw that everyone had the same expression. "Max, how did you do that? Only the most trained healers can heal a wound with _Stilonda _poison."

"I don't know. I just... I can just… do it." Was my ingenious answer.

"He'll be waking up soon. The side effects of the poison will still be there. Someone get a wet cloth. He's going to have one hell of a headache when he wakes up." Jeb didn't bother watching his language. Ella rushed to the kitchen and brought back a damp cloth. She gave it to me.

I walked over to where Fang was lying down. Brushing away his overgrown bangs, I placed the cool cloth on his burning forehead. Now all there was left to do was wait.

Fang's P.O.V

I only realized I was unconscious when I opened my eyes and immediately wished I hadn't. It felt like someone was repeatedly whacking me in the head with a sledgehammer. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my blurry vision. Instead of being in Antarctica, I was back at Dr. M's house. A cool cloth was on my forehead, but I still felt boiling hot.

Everyone was staring at me. They all looked relieved except Jeb who looked enraged. Max, who was standing closest to me, gave me a soft smile.

"Where's Iggy?" I whispered.

"Not here." Jeb said coldly. I readied myself for the major scolding I was about to receive.

Max's P.O.V

"What were you doing? You practically _allowed_ Iggy to hurt you. You didn't even try to stop him. You knew it was Adrianna. You knew that it was only Iggy's body and that his mind was somewhere else. I wasn't expecting you to kill him, but to let him almost kill you. What would have happened if I wasn't there? If Max wasn't here to heal you? What would you have done then?" Jeb stopped to take a breath.

The silence was deafening. I was afraid this would turn into a physical battle between Fang and Jeb. Fang wasn't one to take criticism gracefully. Surprisingly, he stayed quiet.

But Jeb wasn't finished yet. "First Angel, now Iggy? How do you expect to keep a whole race alive if you can't even protect your own family?"

"Jeb!" Mom cried, looking appalled. I turned to look at Fang, searching for any sign of anger. Clenched fists, deep breaths, anything. All I saw was defeat.

"It's okay. He's right." Fang sighed. "I know how to fight, but I don't know how to be a leader. I'm willing to learn, but I need your help Jeb." My jaw dropped. Fang just asked for help? I have to make sure pigs don't fly now.

Jeb smiled, and right then I could tell that he was actually testing Fang. "Ofcourse I'll help you. But from now on, you listen to me until you're ready. Understood?"

Fang nodded.

"Good. You need some rest. Then we have to find Iggy. I don't think Adrianna will kill him yet, but she is corrupting him. Oh and Max. I have to talk to you in private." Right then, I knew that he knew. He knew about the monster I turned into earlier today. Was he going to cast me out? Was he going to tell everyone else and make them hate me?

I walked over to him. "Yes?" I asked as innocently as possible.

"Angel told me." Jeb whispered.

"What am I?" I asked.

"Honestly Max, I don't know. Claws, sharp teeth, Angel also added golden eyes. She said you were faster, stronger, and seemed to know exactly what you were doing with a sword. What I want to know is what triggered it." Jeb looked at me expectantly.

I thought for a long time. After pondering the question, I came up with one answer. "Anger. I was angry." Jeb nodded, chewing his nails just like I did when I was thinking. I really was starting to see the resemblance between us.

"We'll have to find out what you are." Jeb finally said.

"Am I a monster?" I asked.

"For your sake Max, I'd certainly hope not."

Adrianna's P.O.V

I was still hyperventilating, something that I never ever did. I shook my head. The boy is not Gaspard. Gaspard is dead. You killed him. I kept telling myself. For some reason the thought triggered a pang of sadness in my heart.

I missed Gaspard. I remembered all the times we played together. The times he protected me, smiled at me, took care of me. I remembered his face when I killed him. There were many times like these when I missed him.

"Ms. Igregor?" One of the guards called. I snarled at him.

"My name is Adrianna." I barked. "Don't ever call me that again."

"My apologies your majesty. The boy is back. The Shadow Hunter's younger brother." I got up to go meet the boy, pushing thoughts of him away.

Gaspard is dead, I told myself firmly. My brother is dead and I saw it with my own eyes. I was after all, the one who killed him.

**The end of chapter 7. I will explain everything in the next chapter. **

_**Important**_

**I have a poll up on my profile. I want to know if I should start ****Only the Strong Survive**** over again. I'm not really happy with it at all, but if you want me to continue it the way it is, then I will. I've been having major writer's block. That's the reason I haven't been updating it. **

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**FangGirlForever**


	8. Dear God,

**HEY GUYS! I ****know my updating has been slowing down, but I am not giving up on these stories.**

**_Chapter 8_**

Fang's P.O.V

_Clang!_ That my friends was the sound of my head nearly being chopped off. Luckily, I had a sword to protect myself with. No, I was not in the middle of a war. I was sword fighting Max whom, with Jeb's help, had picked up sword fighting excellently. It was a dry, hot day here in Arizona (when is it not?) and I was sweating like crazy. I couldn't concentrate though. I was constantly thinking about Iggy.

No matter how annoying the kid could get, he was still my little brother. Also, he was only fourteen, and living in Queen Snowflake's castle. Jeb had told me that he would look more into the kind of compulsion Adrianna had used.

I parried another strike from Max's sword, but I was disoriented. I had so much on my mind, and Max completely exploited my momentary weakness. With one hard strike, she sent the sword flying out of my hands. The next thing I knew, the cold tip of her sword point was at my throat. Max looked completely stunned.

"Are you okay Fang? I've never gotten close to beating you" Max's face went from stunned to proud to curious to worried in about two seconds.

"I'm fine. Just distracted thats all. You were really good though." I answered.

"Is it Iggy, Fang?" Max asked quietly. I remained silent. "You can tell me."

I sighed. "Yeah." I whispered back.

"He's going to be okay." Max assured me, sounding completely confident. I had a feeling that she was trying to sound that way to make me feel better though.

"I hope so." Silence.

"Come on." Max said as she put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Let's go inside. It's too hot to stand out here." I let her guide me into the house. We were going to go upstairs when Jeb stopped us.

"There might me a potion that could heal your brother." I looked up immediately.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but we could ask help from alchemists in Tsutsano."

I gulped. That would mean facing other Shadows who most likely would most likely not accept the fact that a sixteen year old boy was supposed be their leader.

"When can we go?" I asked, swallowing my fear. This is for Iggy was like a mantra in my head.

"Now?" Jeb questioned. I curtly nodded and went to pack my meager necessities. While I was packing, Angel came into my room.

"You're leaving again." Angel said. It wasn't a question but a statement.

"Yup."

"How long?" Angel asked.

"Umm... I'm not sure." I answered truthfully.

"I want to come with you."

"Not happening Ange. I've taken enough chances with you. You're staying with Dr. M"

"Please." Angel begged.

"Hmm let me think... No" Then came the puppy dog eyes.

"Pretty please. I won't cause any trouble, I swear." Do not look into those eyes Fang. Nicholas Parker if you look into her eyes I swear to god I'll- **(Fang's inner voice)**

I sighed. "Fine." You looked into her eyes you moron.

"Wait." Came a voice from the door. I turned around. Ella. "If Angel gets to go, we all should get to go with you." I internally groaned. It was times like these when I spoke to God.

Dear God,

Why am I such a moron?

-Fang

"Ella I... You have exactly five minutes get your stuff or you aren't coming. Gazzy, get out of my closet, I know you're in there so stop hiding. Your time is ticking." Gazzy sheepishly crawled out of my closet which he had been hiding in thinking that I didn't know he was there. I rolled my eyes and got my things together. Who knew when I was coming back here.

I went downstairs and was greeted by the sound of Max and Dr. M. arguing. It seemed to be a norm around here. I listened in for a few moments.

'"I'm going Mom." Max's voice was loud and angry.

"You're not one of them Max." Dr. M was equally loud.

"Why are you being so over protective? I'll be fine."

"I don't want to lose you Max." Dr. M sounded on the verge of tears.

Max's voice softened. "I'm sorry Mom. I just... I have to find out who I am."

"Fang." A new voice said from behind me. I turned around and faced Jeb."

"Here." He thrust a bow and a quiver of arrows at me. I actually smiled. I hadn't gotten a new bow since that Dark Angel stepped on my old one.

"Thanks Jeb."

"It's no problem. I figured you'd use it more than I would." Before I could say anything else, Angel, Ella, and Gazzy came bounding down the stairs.

"Ready." Ella said. I looked at the nearest clock. Exactly five minutes had passed. Ella had a 'beat that' look on her face. I sighed.

"Okay, well I guess you can come then." I said awkwardly not knowing what else to say.

"We should really be leaving." Jeb said.

"I'm ready too." Max came downstairs. Max and I locked eyes for a moment. I turned.

"Let's go."

_Lilith. Come. _I ordered in my head. In a matter of seconds, Lilith was standing in front of me. She nuzzled cheek with her forehead. I cracked a small smile and stroked her forehead. Her sleek fur was pure white as usual. It never got dirty. _Max will me riding with us too._ I told Lilith. She gave me an annoyed snort. _Whatever_. Was the reply.

I turned to Max."You first." Max didn't look too thrilled about stepping anywhere near Lilith, but did so anyway. I held her leg up on Lilith's side while she got up onto Lilith's back. **(Bareback technique. Lilith has no saddle or bridle)**

I then mounted Lilith myself and gripped her neck while waiting for everyone else to get settled. Max was riding Lilith with me, Angel was riding Mystic with Ella, and Gazzy was riding Star with Jeb. _We're going to Tsutsano._ I told Lilith. I felt the excited shiver run through her. Tsutsano was her birth home. _Take it slow Lilith. We have to ride at the pace of the others._ She let out an annoyed snort.

The horse had an attitude. We started riding. Tsutsano was at the entrance of the Grand Canyon which was relatively close by. It was about a half an hour ride at the speed we were traveling in. Mystic was still young and couldn't keep up with Lilith and Star, so we had to slow down a bit.

The Grand Canyon was, as usual, filled with tourists. Apparently, a bunch of kids (and one adult) riding horses into the park was considered 'disruptive and dangerous' according to security . Who knew right? So we had to take the long route down the canyon that not many people knew about. The one person who did know about it, gave us a strange look, but my death glare sent him scrambling up the canyon in fear. I seemed to have that affect on a lot of people.

We finally made it to the bottom. The entrance to Tsutsano was at the base of Shiva's Temple. As we rode inside, even I couldn't hold back an almost inaudible gasp. Tsutsano was beautiful. In the city, even the smallest skyscrapers were taller than the Burj Khalifa **(tallest building in the world)**. As you looked passed the city, you could see the suburban and rural areas.

I had never been in an area with so many Shadows. They were everywhere, obviously since this was our hometown. Shadow children were playing in the park or walking with their parents, elder people were taking walks, and couples were doing everything from laughing and holding hands, to all out making out. All in all, everybody looked happy.

Then all the action stopped, and all eyes turned to me. "Come one Fang." Jeb said as he continued riding ahead with Star. I told Lilith to keep walking, and we walked past all of the people who were still staring. We rode all the way through the city and to the suburban area. Jeb stopped at a large mansion. "This is where we are staying." He said to us.

"Why was everybody staring at me like that?" I asked.

"They were looking at your face." Ouch. That was cold.

"I'm not that ugly." I blurted. Max snorted.

"No Fang." Jeb said, sounding exasperated, but even I could hear the hint of a smile in his voice, "They thought you were somebody else."

"Who?"

"Hush. I will tell you later." Jeb silenced me. As we dismounted our thuruks, we walked towards the mansion. Jeb rang the doorbell, and a man opened the door. He was tall, about Jeb's age, and looked like a pretty nice guy. His eyes were crinkled at the edges showing that he smiled a lot. His face was handsome for an older man. The only flaw was the large scar going from his eyebrow to disappearing under his shirt. He probably worked out a lot since he was rugged and muscular.

"Jeb!" he exclaimed. Jeb and him hugged. He looked at us. When he looked at me, his eyes grew sad for a moment, but he blinked and the joyful face was back again, making me think that I was imagining it all. "You must be Nick. Jeb has told me a lot about you. He wasn't lying when he said you look like him. You could be his twin, heck, you could pass off for him." The man said.

"Um, pass off for whom exactly?" I asked.

"Oh, so he hasn't told you yet?" I shook my head. "Well, knowing Jeb, he'll tell you when the time is right. I would trust him."

"How do we know we can trust you? We don't even know your name." Angel said.

"Angel, don't be rude. "I scolded. The man chuckled.

"No no, it's me who is being rude. My name is Sven Schweitzer. I am one of the oldest Shadows in Tsutsano. As for if you can trust me or not, that is for you to decide. But until you find a reason not to trust me, my house is open for you to use."

I nodded in appreciation. "Thank you Sven." We walked into his house. "Do you know any good healers around here?" I asked.

"Ah. Jeb told me about your brother. I do know one excellent one, but he will not help anybody without a price."

"I'm willing to pay anything."

"Even your own life?" I hesitated.

"I want to see him." I stated stubbornly.

"If you insist, he lives in the city. Go to the blue building. He is in the third floor number seventeen. His name is Abram. Good luck Shadow Hunter." I looked at Jeb for assistance.

"This is something you have to do one your own Fang."

I nodded and walked out of the house. _Lilith, I need you again. _I said in my head. Lilith appeared in front of me. _Looks like its just you and me this time._ I told her. She snorted happily. I mounted Lilith and we rode off to the city. The blue building wasn't very hard to find. I dismounted Lilith and told her to wait near the building and walked inside. It looked like a normal apartment lobby.

Then I stepped onto the elevator and went to the third floor. Looking around I found number seventeen. I knocked on the door, and it creaked open without anybody opening it. Was it cliche? Yes. Did that make it seem any less creepy? Absolutely not. Stepping in I viewed my surroundings. They were absolutely gruesome. Stuffed animal heads decorated the walls, and tiger skin carpet covered the floor.

Opened bottles of various liquids littered the tables. Some were clear and others were neon yellow and orange. The smell resembled a skunk that had survived off of beans its entire life. In simpler terms: Bad.

"Can I help you child?" Came a smooth, cold voice from behind me. How did he sneak up on me? I turned around. The man looked as terrifying as his house. He had pale white skin and long, oily black hair that was in desperate need of shampoo and conditioning. His face was cruel, and he radiated an evil aura. He was taller than me, and I was pretty tall at six two. I really wanted to run out of the house and ride home as fast as possible, but i took a deep breath and spoke.

"I need your help sir." I tried to be respectful.

"I don't help your kind anymore." Abram sneered.

"My kind?" I asked.

"You are so naive. I am not a Shadow. I am a Dark Angel. The one who betrayed me looks so much like you. See, there is one difference though. The eyes. His eyes were all knowing and sad in a way. You are wise beyond your years, yes, but you still have the innocence of a child." I didn't know who he was talking about or whether I should be offended or not.

"If you are a Dark Angel, why are you here?"

"My kin will never accept me after what I have become. I thought I was one of you once, but after what your race has done to me, I will never respect you or help you. I have resolved to do everything in my power to harm Shadows."

"I'm the new Shadow Hun-"

"I am well aware of what you are Nicholas, and what you have come for. You want me to help your brother." Creep. "Well, like I already told you, I won't help you for free."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You won't do it for free, so what do you want?" I was losing my patience with this guy.

"Nothing you'd be able to do." Abram said tauntingly.

"Try me."

"Okay Shadow Hunter. I will try you. You complete my mission, I make the elixer that will free your brother from Adrianna's clutches."

"Deal."

"Okay. Here's what I want you to do. You see my animal collection? I have the head of every animal I have ever seen except for one. In the woods to the north of the city, there is a river. Follow the river until you see a log bridge. Cross the bridge and go into the cave opposite to the bridge. Cut off the boars head and bring in to me. That is my bargain."

"Fine." We shook on it. His hand was ice cold.

"Oh I forgot. If you don't return be sunrise, I will assume you are dead, and our deal is off." I reluctantly agreed.

Dear God,

Why does my life suck?

-Fang

I looked through the one small window in the apartment. It was around 5:00 in the evening. I walked briskly out of the room, secretly relieved that I had escaped the house. I called for Lilith an mounted her. Once I told her where to go, she sped off. We galloped through the city and into the forest towards the north.

I felt bad telling Lilith to slow down, but I didn't have a choice, considering I had to find the bridge. She was annoyed, but listened anyway and slowed down to the galloping speed of a normal horse which was a slow walk for her. We were riding for about an hour, and I still couldn't find a log bridge.

Then I spotted it. The bridge was about a mile ahead. I allowed Lilith to pour out her full speed, and we were at the bridge in about thirty seconds (about 120 mph). I couldn't tell whether the bridge was sturdy or not, so I slowed Lilith wo walk and she cautiously walked across the bridge.

I sensed them before I saw them. Something about the chill in the made me feel uncomfortable. What really gave it away though was the arrow that came flying towards my head. Lilith saved my life by moving a few inches to the left, making the arrow miss me by a hair. Then I saw it. There was a group or army rather, of Dark Angels. They were big, ugly, angry, and hungry. I did a quick count and found that there were about thirty Dark Angels. Nocking three arrows at once on my bow fired at the Shadows in the front line. They crumpled. Three down, twenty seven to go. Sounds like my kind of odds.

The bridge was huge, and we were still a few yards away from the Dark Angels. I nocked six arrows this time, and fired them. My aim was perfect, not to brag or anything. Then the Dark Angels decided to become smart and separated, so I couldn't kill more then two at a time. A few decided it would be wise to charge at me. Lilith was going at them in full speed and they were running at me on foot, so the impact flattened a few of them. That still left sixteen Shadows.

I slowed Lilith down, so I could process the situation. Bad idea. Suddenly, I felt like a moving train collided right into me. I fell off of Lilith and landed on hard on my back with a Dark Angel on top of me. His haunting, milky white eyes looked down at me blankly. My quiver and bow were on my back, so I couldn't reach them. The Dark Angel, however, had a knife and was about to stick it into my heart.

I grabbed his wrist, and wrestled him, making us roll all over the ground. Using all of my strength, I pushed down on the knife he was holding and sent it straight into his heart. Fifteen to go. Another Dark Angel was charging at me. I quickly picked up the knife I used to kill the other one and threw it at the Dark Angel. The sickening _thump _I heard confirmed that I had hit the correct spot. After another hour of fighting, I had finally killed all of the Dark Angels. I was ready to nap for a few hours. After all, it was just a boar's head I was looking for. I was just falling asleep when a sickening, heart stopping roar came out of the cave, just past the bridge.

Dear God,

Fuck you.

-Fang

**I did not mean to offend any religious believers with that last line. I know this chapter was kind of boring... Im sorry. **

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